Documenting Afghanistan’s Conflicts Since ’93

Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, the country has been a revolving door of political leadership, often resulting in conflict. Award-winning photographer Stephen Dupont has been documenting Afghan lives since 1993, witnessing the rise of the Taliban and the fomentation of the most recent war led by the United States and its allies. Despite the current conflict in Afghanistan, Dupont’s images from Generation AK: The Afghanistan Wars, 1993-2012, do not depict violence. Instead, they show the human experience amidst something much bigger than any one individual on the ground. “When I started going in 1993, the world was not interested in hearing about Afghanistan. I saw a people and country that was crying out to be heard. Although I was just one small voice, I was at least able to offer my photography of life, struggle and war,” Dupont said in an interview with LensCulture. If you like his work below, you can purchase Generation AK here.

A young girl on donkey, with a Russian Hind gunship in background, in Yangi Qala in 1998. (Generation AK by Stephen DuPont, published by Steidl)Afghan National Army soldiers on a hill during a patrol with U.S. Marines in Narang Village in 2005. (Generation AK by Stephen DuPont, published by Steidl)A Tajik bride and groom pose for a wedding picture inside the Saki Tajik Refugee Camp in 1993. (Generation AK by Stephen DuPont, published by Steidl)An Afghan refugee inside the Shamsatoo Refugee Camp near Peshawar in 2001. (Generation AK by Stephen DuPont, published by Steidl)Anonymous portrait of a man on the streets of Kabul in 2006. (Generation AK by Stephen DuPont, published by Steidl)